Month: January 2018

He had to deal with a midseason trade for his supposed top wideout, Kelvin Benjamin. The Panthers added a dynamic cog in Christian McCaffrey but stripped away outside deep threats beyond breakout wideout Devin Funchess.

I love this city. I love this organization, Thomas said. They’ve given me the opportunity to be who I always wanted to be and I can’t thank them enough. So there’s no hard feelings to anybody in this city or anybody in this organization. And I’m glad I’m back. Like I always said, it’s genuine love, and that’s — that’s for the rest of my life here.

The fans gave him a standing ovation when his face flashed on the jumbotron and the whole evening seemed like a nice bit of closure before the main event on Feb. 11 when he should be back to his old self for the rematch. Now that I’m back playing you all have something else to write about, he said.

The Steelers are forced to punt after they are backed up by a holding penalty and a false start. The Patriots will start their drive at their 29 with 7:38 remaining.

The Patriots come up short on a third-and-6 pass from Brady to James White. But, instead of kicking a field goal, New England elects to go for it. On the fourth-down play, Brady connects with Rob Gronkowski for a 10-yard gain to keep the drive alive. The Patriots now have it at the Steelers 6.

Touchdown, Steelers. Pittsburgh drives 78 yards and chews up over 8:30 of game action before Martavis Bryant pulls in a Roethlisberger one-handed for a 4-yard touchdown. The Steelers take a 17-10 lead with 25 seconds to play before halftime.

That balance is even more critical this year since Boston has so much young talent. Jaylen Brown has improved in giant strides, and Jayson Tatum has exceeded all reasonable expectations. The loss of Hayward thrust the two into larger roles, and they have delivered. That early success bodes well for the future.

Perry Sutton, Clowney’s youth football coach: I know him. I said, He’s gonna do something to make a change. He’s gonna do something. I didn’t know he was going to do that, but I knew he was going to do something.

Tirico: South Carolina deserved the ball on measurement, so justice was served.

Dylan Thompson, South Carolina quarterback, 2011-14: I remember in his first practice — literally his first practice in college — we didn’t have anyone who could block him. You knew then that the guy lived up to every bit of hype. Coming out, we literally didn’t have anyone who could block him, and he’s an 18-year-old kid who’s dominating his first day at practice.

Not only did James have a tough night, but Isaiah Thomas, Kevin Love, Jae Crowder, and J.R. Smith all combined for just 18 points on 6-of-30 shooting. Yikes! James was the only Cleveland starter to notch double-digit points.

Goodell handed Elliot a six-game suspension after the NFL concluded a 13-month-long investigation into domestic violence allegations raised by a former girlfriend. Elliott was never charged with a crime and has to this day denied the allegations. He appealed his punishment with the NFL, but the suspension was upheld by Harold Henderson, the league’s arbitrator. Elliott and the NFLPA then filed a federal lawsuit against the league, claiming the investigation and appeal were fundamentally unfair: The league didn’t make Elliott’s accuser available to testify at the appeal, and Goodell declined to explain the reasoning behind his decision.

Ultimately, after a prolonged legal battle, Elliot dropped his appeal, and sat out his suspension. But the end result was not praise for the NFL’s hard stance on domestic violence, but rather, the reverse �� the league once again exhibited to its female fan base how a one size fits all domestic violence policy does not always work in sports �� and certainly not when it is inconsistently enforced.

It’s win or go home, Jones said. I’m not a numbers guy. Whatever it takes to get the win.

Jones also got to do a bit of gloating this week after his alma mater won another national championship with a 26-23 overtime victory over Georgia.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr fumbled through the end zone with 31 seconds to play, allowing the Cowboys to secure a 20-17 win Sunday night in Oakland, Calif.

Dallas (8-6) kicked a field goal with 1:44 remaining to take the lead before Oakland (6-8) drove downfield for a chance to win. Carr lost the ball while diving for the pylon, turning it over to the Cowboys, who held on for the victory.

Butler’s shot wasn’t dropping, so he got to the line, where he shot 16-of-18 that’s 89 percent for the students in the back. Butler’s shot wasn’t dropping, so he made critical play after critical play down the stretch of a tight game.

The Wolves were mounting a 12-point comeback and needed a stop to prevent the Nets from stealing the momentum back. Brooklyn was a fraction of a second away from DeMarre Carroll potentially hitting a three to extend the lead back to double-digits.

The global calls for gender equality across sport have not had much teeth. The international federations just like the Big Four must improve the percentage of female representation in the coming year.

Anyway without Durant, the Warriors look ridiculously good but also venerable. It’s a nice feeling for the team at the top of the league…and also short-lived. Ah well.

The Clippers’ international guard played only nine minutes on Thursday before leaving the game with plantar fasciitis, and it doesn’t really appear if that will make him healthy for future games. While the Los Angeles lead guard is one of the best ball-handlers and scorers in the league, he is not a natural point creator something that had him often at odds with the Warriors.

Seahawks safety Earl Thomas on whether injured linebacker Bobby Wagner should have played Sunday against the Rams: You’ve got to give your hats off to Wags and a couple guys that played, but my personal opinion, I don’t think they should have played. I think the backups would have did just as good.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning on noise made by Eagles fans at MetLife Stadium: You don’t think that would happen at home, but I guess when you only win two games you got a lot of Eagles fans and we couldn’t hear the cadence. That’s why we jumped offsides.

John’s agents pushed hard towards the $10 Million mark, to no avail. Much like the NBA’s restricted free agency window, there was a match clause on Wall’s shoe deal, meaning his agents at Relativity Sports had the summer of 2015 to take pitches from other brands, and adidas could fully match any new offer Wall agreed to.

The problem was that John Wall simply had no other brands making a concrete offer. No other brand was offering the coveted trio of pure cash, marketing push and a signature line. The offers just weren’t there.

With no offers on the table, Wall banked on himself as a free agent and had been waiting ever since. Now he’s returning to the brand after two seasons of testing the market.

If both teams move on, however, then where would they look next?

They would at least pitch Urban Meyer, the most popular coach in Ohio. The Buckeyes coach has the perfect setup in Columbus. He beats Michigan. He wins Big Ten championships. So what’s the pitch?

If Meyer were to go to either franchise and have success, he would be right up there with Paul Brown as the biggest coaching icon in the Buckeye State’s history. Remember, Brown won a national championship at Ohio State, three NFL championships with the Browns and played a role in founding the Bengals.

Meyer, however, still seems farfetched as an option given his lack of NFL coaching experience. He has shut down every NFL rumor in the past. His biggest rival, Jim Harbaugh, will be mentioned, too. We just don’t see Harbaugh leaving Ann Arbor for either Ohio franchise.

I think it was great, Wall told SB Nation. People hear and say what they might see about a shoe deal, but they never see the real breakdown of a contract and understand incentives and those type of things in there. It wasn’t beneficial to me at the time.

Where will Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield be selected in the 2018 NFL Draft? Depending who you ask, the answer ranges from mid- to late-first round all the way to somewhere in the third round.

There are other complications, as well.

Coach Jack Del Rio had praise for Todd Downing despite having seen the Raiders’ production slip in Downing’s first season as offensive coordinator.

Del Rio’s agent, Bob LaMonte, also represents Gruden, leading to what one source described as a lot of sensitive situations. Plus, Gruden has been unpredictable before, and when some thought he could make the jump to the NFL, he didn’t.

One man, Jeff Fell, said Gurley won him the top prize in his Fantasy league this season, so he said it was only right for him to donate money to an organization Gurley supports, the Shriners Hospital for Children.

Gurley came off a fantastic week, becoming the third player in NFL history to have at least 2,000 scrimmage yards, 10 rushing touchdowns and more than five receiving TDs in a single season after the Rams’ Christmas Eve victory against the Titans.

Eric Weddle could be in for a hefty payout if his team makes the playoffs.

According to an incentive in his contract, the Ravens safety could earn a $1 million bonus if he is named on the original Pro Bowl ballot and if Baltimore advances to the postseason.

The Cavs were unable to separate from the Blazers until Thomas and Dwyane Wade teamed up in the fourth.

Thomas knocked down a jumper and then fired a pass toward the baseline to a cutting Wade, who made a reverse layup. On Cleveland’s next possession, Thomas spotted up in the corner and buried a 3-pointer to give the Cavs a 100-91 lead.

This is obviously our first time playing together, but you can see moments where he added a dynamic that we need, especially if we want to get to where we want to be, Wade said. Happy that he’s back on the court and glad he’s on our side.

The Chiefs traded up to get Mahomes in the 2017 draft and and selected him with the 10th overall pick. The former Texas Tech quarterback has not thrown a pass yet this year, but he went 34 of 54 for 390 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in the preseason.

Kansas City won the AFC West with a 9-6 record heading into their final game of the season. They are currently on a three-game winning streak.

In a surprising turn of events for a franchise that seemed destined to part ways with its longtime head coach, the Bengals signed Marvin Lewis to a two-year deal through the 2019 season, it was announced Tuesday.

Lewis’ return comes after days of discussions with Bengals owner Mike Brown. On Monday, Lewis repeatedly said the talks were all about getting on the same page, but did not elaborate as to what that meant.

Marvin Lewis has been an important member of the Cincinnati community and the Bengals family for the past 15 years, and we are happy to have reached this agreement, Brown said in a statement. Marvin has made significant contributions during his time here. While recently we have fallen short of our expectations, we have full confidence in Marvin to re-establish winning football in 2018.